Factional Feud
Congress high command to crack whip in Rajasthan
The conclusion of the Karnataka election has turned the Congress leadership’s attention towards the long-standing leadership tussle in Rajasthan. Unlike in Karnataka, where the party’s two top state leaders – Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar – made a joint effort to steer the party to victory, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot have been locked in a bitter battle. Pilot has been eyeing the chief minister’s post, which Gehlot has refused to vacate. The party’s central leadership tried to settle the row, but the two leaders refused to budge from their positions. Sources said the leadership has now decided to crack the whip to make the warring duo fall in line. The party, being particularly cut up about the unaccommodating attitude of the chief minister, has decided to enforce its writ by addressing Pilot’s problems.
Trouble in Northeast
Centre probes internal sabotage angle in Manipur
The ruling BJP’s troubles seem to be growing in the northeastern state of Manipur. Last year, a group of MLAs landed in Delhi seeking reconstitution of the state ministry and removal of Chief Minister Biren Singh. Last week, 10 MLAs belonging to the ruling party signed a statement asking the central government to carve out a separate tribal state out of Manipur. The demand for a separate state followed violent clashes in which scores of people lost their lives and property worth crores was damaged. The dominant Meiteis and the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi hill tribals have been at loggerheads over the demand by Meiteis to recognise them as Scheduled Tribes. The tribal MLAs have expressed a complete loss of faith in the chief minister and his administration. As tension between the two groups continued, the Centre played mediator and summoned the state’s top leaders to Delhi on Sunday. Sources said that two days back, a prominent BJP leader, who does not belong to Manipur, had met the rebellious tribal MLAs outside the state. The Union government has learned about this rendezvous and is keen to know what transpired in the meeting. Sources in the BJP did not rule out the role of insiders in destabilising the Manipur government.
Anniversary Report
Govt depts racing to beat May 26 release deadline
Officers of the Union government’s publicity division – Press Information Bureau – have been working frenetically to meet the May 26 deadline for releasing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ninth-anniversary report. The Prime Minister’s Office has given a format to be followed by all departments while collecting data on the government’s flagship schemes and the number of jobs created over the last year. The focus of this year’s anniversary report will be the creation of infrastructure and jobs. The government will launch a major advertisement blitz in newspapers, televisions, digital media and outdoor advertising to highlight its achievements in its ninth year. Modi took oath as Prime Minister on May 26, 2014. He won a second term in 2019.